The PowerPoint file and link to the YouTube video of the January 2019 Grants for Farmers Webinar

The heroin and opioid epidemic has spread across the country in the last decade, and overdose deaths in rural areas are now surpassing those in urban areas. Access to prevention, treatment, and support services are typically lacking in rural or farming communities, leading to untreated addiction and increased overdose deaths. Additionally, recent reports show that those who work in occupations with higher rates of injury (farming, construction, roofing, etc.) where workers are less able to take time off to heal are more likely to medicate acute or chronic pain symptoms with opioids, leading to increased likelihood of addiction (MADPH, 2018).  

As a fruit and vegetable farmer, labor is one of your most important resources but being a manager also exposes you to risks.  To help prepare you for the 2019 growing season, the Eastern NY Commercial Hort Team, in collaboration with the Cornell Small Farms Program and the Cornell Ag Workforce Development Program and the Cornell Farmworker Program, is offering many opportunities for farmers and farm managers to improve their skills and gain important information in labor management this winter.